“Jennifer, are you ready?”


    “Almost, Mom. One minute!”


    Jennifer plugged into the enclave network. An AI spoke to her in a soothing tone of voice, godlike, parental, nurturing, telling her what to consume, eat, believe, and feel.


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    “Okay, Mom, I’m ready!”


    They took an auto-hover car to the factory where they served.


    “Mom, I heard that beyond the walls, there are savages. Is it true?”


    “Yes, honey, outside our enclave. They’re brutal, killing one another while scavenging for food and clothing.”


    “Why don’t they join us, Mom?”


    “Primitive and hopeless. They call themselves ‘the freethinkers,’ they prefer to be enclaveless.”